Malian justice summons the French Minister of Foreign Affairs

Malian justice summons the French Minister of Foreign Affairs

Jean-Yves Le Drian is expected on June 20 at the courthouse of the tribunal de grande instance of the commune of III of Bamako to be heard in a case of awarding a public contract for the manufacture of Malian passports. A case that dates back to 2015. On the French side, we denounce a “ umpteenth provocation “.

The summons dates from April 20, but it appeared on Wednesday May 11 massively on social networks. If the title of the head of French diplomacy is flayed, Jean-Yves Le Drian is nonetheless summoned on June 20 at 8 a.m. by the Malian justice ” for business concerning him “. He and his son Thomas, whose name is also mentioned, are suspected of ” damage to public property and other offenses at the expense of the State of Mali “.

At the origin of this summons, a complaint from the Malian association Maliko for facts dating from 2015. Maliko accuses Jean-Yves Le Drian, then French Minister of Defense, of having ” took advantage of his position to twist the arm to IBK “, then president of Mali, so that Oberthur, a Breton company now called Idemia, obtains the market for the manufacture of Malian passports, replacing a Canadian company.

Last year, the magazine Young Africa had published a survey illustrating the efforts in this direction of Jean-Yves Le Drian, very committed to his region, Brittany, without revealing any illegal acts. The Maliko association believes that ” Malian rules and procedures were blithely violated “.

A French diplomatic source told RFI that the French embassy was not officially seized, and denounced a ” umpteenth provocation intended to put a coin back in the machine “.

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